| Nebraska’s last two growing seasons have been plagued with drought. This year the drought has receded, and the state’s crop producers have seen marked improvement in growing conditions. Pasture conditions are also better than average for this time of year. The improvement of the past year can be seen in Figure 1 which compares drought maps for July of last year and this July. Last year, 77 percent of the state was under some form of drought. This year, 83 percent is drought-free. Last year, 48 percent of the state was under a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. This year none of the state is under a severe or worse drought. What drought remains is in panhandle counties of Sioux, Dawes, Box Butte, and Scotts Bluff. Southwest Nebraska also has areas of dryness. It seems, though, that this year’s rains have been accompanied by more severe weather and hail. X, formerly known as Twitter, has been filled with pictures of hail and wind damage along with some flood damaged crops. Hopefully, the damage will not blot otherwise stellar growing conditions. Let the timely rains continue. |
FIGURE 1. NEBRASKA DROUGHT MONITOR Source: The National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. |
